Tre L'trache delighted the full house gathered for Drag Queen Bingo at the Holiday Inn St. George on July 21, 2018. The event raised money for the city's upcoming Pride festival.(Photo: Chris Caldwell / The Spectrum & Daily News)Buy Photo

Participants played several rounds of bingo, and each winner received prizes donated from local businesses. Tre L'trache also announced several drawing winners throughout the night who received additional prizes.

Unlike many drag queen events, bingo night was family-friendly, and families with children of all ages came out to support the cause.

The bingo night raised $2,549, which will go toward expenses associated with organizing Pride of Southern Utah, a St. George LGBTQ Pride festival scheduled for Sept. 17-22.

Bingo for a cause

Lambert said Southern Utah Pride's mission is to build a support group for members of the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer/questioning community so they don't feel alone.

"We've had a hard time, because we have a lot of people who are LGBTQ but no real community here," he said. "That's why it's important to get together in different venues and events to have that feeling of support."

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More than $2,500 was raised at Drag Queen Bingo in St. George on July 21, 2018.(Photo: Chris Caldwell / The Spectrum & Daily News)

Pop culture has played a big part in making drag more mainstream, Lambert said. For example, television shows like "Ru Paul's Drag Race" help portray dressing in drag as a fun form of entertainment.

Lambert also mentioned that libraries in some U.S. cities have been inviting drag queens to host storytelling events for children.

"Really drag is about being able to have a good time and expressing yourself in a different way," Lambert explained.

But still, there are important distinctions regarding dressing in drag and being transgender people should be aware of, Lambert said.

"Drag and trans are two totally different things," he said. "Drag is fun, sassy, and it's good entertainment, whereas being trans is very serious."

Support for the LGBTQ community

For bingo participants like Brent Pettit and Gregg Hamilton, two Mesquite residents, it was important for them to make the 45-minute trip to St. George to support Pride of Southern Utah.

Mark Speener, who also participated in the bingo event, said it simply makes sense that a city of St. George's size hosts more inclusive events like Drag Queen Bingo.

"It's for a good cause, and I've volunteered at Equality Utah events," Speener said.
"So it's just one more thing I can do to help out. I've also never played bingo live, and bingo by a drag queen sounded like the best place to start."

Hamilton said it's smart for St. George to embrace the LGBTQ community, particularly in its current period of rapid growth.

"New people moving here are going to be very impressed that St. George is gay-friendly," Hamilton said. "Especially in Utah, St. George is next in line for being all-inclusive."

Two years ago, St. George hosted its first-ever Pride festival at Vernen Worthen Park, something several larger cities in the state have fallen behind on, Hamilton pointed out.

For St. George resident Nancy Harris, the event was important because it's about supporting diversity and the arts in her own community.

"Diversity is a big issue," Harris said.

Mari Lopez agreed with Harris, adding that having fun at a bingo night is a good way to get the community out and put money back into a good cause.

In addition, it was fun for Lopez to see people "let their hair down a little bit." The St. George resident said she hopes the first family-friendly drag queen bingo event will spur more events in the area.